


Thunderstruck

by Blimbgis_the_Turgled



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Adding more characters as i write this, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Horror, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Half-Elf Callum (The Dragon Prince), Transformation, dark magic is bad mmkay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24979945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blimbgis_the_Turgled/pseuds/Blimbgis_the_Turgled
Summary: Callum seeks to learn the Sky Arcanum and a chance storm gives him an opportunity._____Slight AU where Callum gets struck by lightning at the same time Zym did
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Bridge Between](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20385046) by [Dreadbeasts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreadbeasts/pseuds/Dreadbeasts). 



"If you die out there I _swear_ I'll kill ya!!" Rayla shouted after the two princes as they moved further inland in the island, her angry expression quickly faltered into worry as she watched Callum take Zym into the storm.

"They'll be fine Rayla, come on, let's get out of the rain" Ezran said, retreating to the cabin in the Ruthless.

Rayla stayed outside though, she was still worried about Callum.

The minutes felt like hours to her as she waited for Callum and Zym to return. She happened to glance off towards where most of the lighting was gathering, a lighthouse, presumably equipped with a lightning rod given how the bolts hit the roof, and saw the faintest traces of a figure standing atop the structure...Callum.

"What in Garlef's name is that idiot doing now?" Rayla said, irritation in her voice which died the next moment when she saw lightning strike where both Callum and Zym were standing. Rayla wasted no time scrambling to her feet and using every ounce of speed she could muster, rushing toward the lighthouse.

She found Callum in the mud, his clothes burned somewhat and his body bloody from the lightning strike

He wasnt moving


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum is still alive after being directly struck by lightning, surprising everyone, but his survival is not the only surprise that awaits him when he wakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thunderstruck was written for two reasons
> 
> 1\. I liked the idea of Callum accidentally getting zapped during the storm and wanted to explore that for both angst potential and because the idea is cool
> 
> 2\. I needed something to get me back into writing, and it worked, which is why I uploaded both the first chapter of this and chapter 9 of Fallen Empire on the same day

Rayla rushed back to the ship with Callum in her arms. He still wasnt moving, but his pulse was still present, much to her relief. 

  
Back aboard the ship Ezran had left the shelter of the cabin to see where Rayla had gone, and was mortified to see her running back with his limp brother in her arms, bloody and singed.

  
To the best of his ability, Villads helped to build a makeshift infirmary below deck and they stripped Callum of his jacket and shirt. 

  
They discovered two things...first, how much damage had been caused by both the lightning strike and his fall, and second...that there was a tattoo between his shoulder blades...an illusion rune...an element they hadn't expected.

* * *

  
Callum was in a dreamlike state of some sort, and felt strange..he saw images of what he assumed were events, but they were far too incoherent and blurry to make sense of. Searching for any sound cues were also for naught, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that some of them were intimately familiar. He woke to find himself laying on his back and staring at tree branches and an afternoon sky. His head felt like it had been hit with a hammer and all of his muscles ached intensely. He also noticed that light was hurting his eyes, consistent with what he knew about head injuries.

  
  
"Must've hit my head pretty hard" he thought, and moved to cover his eyes with his hand, which he noticed was bandaged up, along with much of his body. 

  
  
He also noticed there was some weight on his other arm and when he looked to see what it was, he saw Rayla sleeping on his arm.

A warmth bloomed in his chest and his lips curled into a soft smile. It was a nice thing to wake to, he thought, to see how much she cared. She stirred a bit and he quickly faked that he was still held by sleep while she was roused from her’s.  
Cracking his eyelids a little, he noticed she looked flustered after realising what she did, and to save her from her own embarrassment, he ‘woke up’, making a pained groan.  
  
“Ow” he said, honestly, as his head and body as a whole still ached.

  
  
Rayla looked overjoyed to see him conscious and tightly hugged him, and while he liked it, it hurt him just as much.

  
  
“Ow-ow-ow!!” he repeated under his breath and Rayla quickly released her hold, apologizing for hurting him.

  
  
“Oh Cal, we’ve been worried sick about you!” she said.

  
“Ugh...how long was I out?” Callum asked “not too long I hope?”

  
  
Rayla fidgeted a little and looked down at her feet.

  
  
“Rayla...how long?” Callum repeated, a little worried now at what the answer would be.

  
  
“T-three days...you’ve been sleeping for three days” she said

* * *

  
Despite his injuries, the three of them were still able to make decent ground, though they had made little progress while Callum had been unconscious, and needed to figure out ways to save time.

  
  
Ezran used some money from a coin purse he had been hiding in his backpack, and purchased a covered wagon and a horse. Not only would this save time on their journey, but they could take roads and hide in plain sight. It also let Callum lay down more and with Ezran's ability to speak with animals, they didn't need to control the reins except when they had to keep up appearances...this would usually fall on Rayla in her "human disguise", as Callum still had poor coordination, and Ezran controlling the reins would look suspicious.

  
  
While he rested, Callum also had much time to think about the Sky Arcanum, and how he could connect to it, he felt like he was getting close, but that he just needed a breakthrough of sorts...whatever that was.

  
  
"Hey, Rayla? How do you connect to the Moon Arcanum?" Callum asked, after noticing the Key of Aaravos' Moon rune illuminate in her presence.

  
  
"You're supposed to be resting and healing, sad prince" she replied with a smirk that Callum could just hear.

  
  
"Well, given my current situation, I seem to have discovered I have a bunch of free time to think about several things...like forging my link to the Sky Arcanum” he said

Rayla to the best of her ability and in a very animated fashion, explained that it wasn’t so much knowing her connection as it was a feeling and then   
“Whoosh!! Moonshadow powers! Did that help?” she asked.

“Not at all, but I enjoyed it” he said with a smile, and Rayla returned it with a smile of her own.

The next day, they had stopped in a clearing a short walk away from a walled town to make camp, Ezran and Rayla went to purchase more supplies, food for the four of them and the horse. Overhead, they saw a large shadow and Rayla recognized it as the same shadow they saw overhead aboard the ship.

  
“Is that a dragon?” asked Ezran

  
“Seems so, but I don’t know why it's doing so far away from Xadia” said Raya, a little perplexed

  
They had been sleeping when they heard the roar of a dragon and smelled burning wood. Off in the distance they could see the glow of the nearby village burning. They weren’t sure what was going on but knew that the dragon was torching the town with its flame breath for some reason.

  
The dragon was soon shot down by a defense ballista and crash landed in a clearing, the trio soon went closer to investigate.  
They found her--Pyrrah, Ezran had said--but had to abandon her after removing the bolt from her side, leaving her fate to the human soldiers approaching, much to Rayla’s displeasure.  
Back at their wagon, Rayla made no effort to hide that she wanted to help Pyrrah, and Callum didn’t blame her for wanting to save her, but wanted to know why she would risk her life to save a dragon that had attacked a town recently.

“It feels like the right thing to do...for me” she said

“If you’re going, then I will too” Callum said

“Wait, what?” Rayla asked, confused “no offense but you-”

“Can’t do anything? I know...but Rayla, seeing you...you inspired me...you jump into battle without fear, and Ezran can speak with animals, and sure, it seems like I can’t do anything, but I’d rather try and fail then sit around and wish I had done something” he said, and his emerald eyes practically screamed ‘let me help’  
Rayla was impressed and had a difficult time trying to think of an excuse to get him to stay, so she let him come along

Unbeknownst to any of them, one of the runes on the Key of Aaravos, tucked away in Callum’s bag, had begun dimly glowing, Sky.

  
Callum and Rayla snuck down to the edge of the clearing, Ezran had stayed behind to watch Zym. Despite having been bedridden for a while, he was keeping up with Rayla rather easily.  
They split up, with Callum intending to be bait while Rayla worked to free Pyrrah of her bonds. He grabbed a shield with the intention of taking it somewhere to make a distracting noise, but while carrying the steel shield, he began to feel lightheaded and tripped, dropping the shield, and alerting everyone with the loud sound, at the same time they found Rayla who had cut the last rope holding the dragon down.

“Callum! We were so worried about you!” Claudia said happily, now we can put this all behind us and you can come home, where you should be”

“You get Callum, I’ll get the elf” said Soren, raising his broadsword

“I told you, I’m not going back, not yet” Callum said, but from the look in Claudia’s eyes, he wouldn’t be able to convince her

“Don’t kill her Soren, she can lead us to Ezran and the baby dragon” Claudia said “and then all this can finally be over”

Two soldiers held Callum in place, while Claudia turned her attention to Rayla, and started to prepare a dark spell, using what looked like an elf horn as an ingredient.

“Gninthgil Krad Htrof Emoc!” her voice distorted as she recited the incantation and her arm was wreathed in black lightning, that she intended to use on Rayla.

Callum saw this in slow motion and then without thinking, he broke free of the soldiers, who had become mesmerized by the display, and then he did something he never thought he would do in his life. He grabbed Claudia by the arm wreathed in Black Lightning and redirected it to strike the wood stakes holding the chains in place and blew them out of the ground, but in the process, he took a lot of the lightning into himself, and found himself able to take the lightning this time. Then he felt something change, like something shattered on his back, and a magical shockwave blasted the two apart a considerable distance.  
Pyrrha was able to get up, now free and lashed her tail at the human soldiers. Soren tried to attack the dragon with his sword, but was swatted away dismissively into a tree by the beast’s tail, knocking the wind out of him.

  
Callum got back up, disoriented and brought an hand up to his head but felt something strange in his hair.

It felt like a pair of horns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now we get into the meat of the story
> 
> I didn't want to have Callum do Dark Magic in this au, but I also don't want to make it so that the reason Callum can do Primal Magic is because he is half-elven, so I'm borrowing an idea I used for Fallen Empire to solve the writing dilemma
> 
> edit: I mispelled Pyrrah's name as "Pyrrha" and have now fixed this


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum discovers what has happened to him, while Claudia makes a big mistake

Callum stopped thinking about everything around him as he was suddenly absorbed by this new development. Something Claudia noticed after she got back up, taken aback by the sudden change in the boy’s appearance.

Callum had 5 fingers on his left hand, 4 on the right. Two dark curved horns protruded from his skull through his thick, chestnut hair. From the small of his back, a pair of large brown feathered wings had manifested. He panicked and looked around for Rayla, surely she knew what was happening.

But Rayla--and Ezran, who had followed them secretly--were staring at him agape...as did Claudia. 

Claudia reacted harshly, believing that Rayla had done something to Callum and in her own mind, she wanted to “fix” the problem, so she turned her attention to Rayla with anger in her eyes and then withdrew a vial of dragon blood from her robes--likely an emergency-use ingredient.

  
  


Claudia used the creature part and spoke the incantation "Aluben Raslup", and her hand was wreathed in white-black energy, she smirked, believing she had the upper hand.

What she didn't know was that this spell was unfinished, and that she had read an incomplete spell sequence in her father's journal. 

Dark Magic does not just take from the magical ingredients provided, but also of the caster, and the price for her failure, by casting an incomplete spell, deserved equal payment from her own flesh. 

A tar-like substance snaked up her arm until it reached her bicep, as she tried to frantically remove it. Her eyes widened and she let out a blood curdling scream of pain, the pain severe enough to make her curl up.

For Claudia, this 3 minute experience felt like 3 hours, as through the pain, she was unable to perceive time correctly. 

Soren had followed the screams and found his sister curled on the ground and clutching at her covered arm and he was frantically trying to think of a way to help.

"..ut it off" Claudia said weakly "p-please Soren, it...it hurts so much...c-cut it off, please!!" her eyes were tearing up as she bore through the pain of the growth slowly devouring her arm.

Soren, drew his blade and Claudia held out her arm, biting down on a rag and bracing herself for the strike. Her brother's sword was sharp, and his blow was strong, cleaving through the bone and flesh with a wet slash and crack. Claudia blacked out quickly afterward. 

  
  


"C-Clauds?...CLAUDIA!!!" Soren shouted at his unconscious sister, afraid she was dead.

* * *

  
  


She opened her eyes and was surrounded by a vast nothingness...no light shone here, and any sound reverberated through this void.

"Where...where am I?" Claudia asked and her voice echoed "ugh, I can't see anything!"

_“There is no light here. You are alone”_ a booming voice answered

It sent a chill down Claudia's spine. The voice sounded like it came from a thousand directions, but also one. The voice also ushered a faint sense of familiarity to her as well, though she did not know why. 

"Who are you?!" she demanded

_"I am everything and yet nothing...I am nameless, and yet named...you know what I am, for you have used the power I have gifted ever so generously, as others have before you"_

"...dark magic…" she realized "you created it?"

_"I gifted power to the human race through Aaravos of the First Elves, to elevate their standing in the world, though it has since fallen into the uses of frivolity and malice”_ the voice spoke

“But why am I here then? What have I done to deserve being brought here?” Claudia questioned the entity.

_“You deliberately used an incomplete incantation to cause harm. Such a use was ingrained in my terms when I granted this power to mortals, and thusly I may choose a fitting punishment”_

Claudia remembered the spell in question, and now knew why it had backfired on her. She gulped and feared what would happen next.

A sharp, searing pain wracked through her wholly as the being spoke once more.

_“You shall drift amongst the everlasting nothingness. You shall drown in the void deep”_ it spoke callously and calmly.

* * *

  
  


As Callum, Rayla, and Ezran were packing up their wagon, they heard the rattle of heavy armor nearby. Rayla drew her blades and froze when she saw the Crownguard boy carrying the mage girl...Soren and Claudia, she remembered. But they were much different this time.

Soren had tear-stains on his cheeks and Claudia was limp in his arms, appearing to be breathing weakly, her face was a deathly pallor.

“Help...please...” Soren pleaded, weakly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the voice of the Dark Magic Entity is none other then Xol, Will of Thousands, from Destiny 2


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today, I should be updating The Fallen Empire soon, as well as drawing Unitatis at some point

The entity pulled Claudia deeper into the void, as she was pulled downward, she felt pressure building around her, as if hundreds of weights were pushing down on her from every angle. She gradually began losing the comfort of freely breathing as what constituted for air was growing thinner and scarcer.

* * *

Soren had Claudia laying down in the covered wagon, tending to her while Ezran, Rayla, and Callum finally had a moment of peace to process what had happened in the clearing to Callum.

“Is it Dark Magic?” wondered Ezran aloud

Though heinous and evil, Dark Magic was extremely versatile, and could potentially cause mutations like turning someone into an elf.

“No, I’m not so sure this was caused by dark arts, Rayla said, scratching her chin in thought while circling Callum and taking in his new  ~~ attractive ~~ features...she banished that thought quickly.

“Rayla has a point...it feels like I’ve always had these my whole life” Callum said, giving his wings a flap

“So...you’re half-elven then?” Ezran asked 

“Half-Skywing but the looks of it” Rayla added

“So if I’ve been like this my whole life, why did this change just happen now?” asked Callum

That clicked something in Rayla and Ezran simultaneously, and they remembered the illusion rune they had seen on him the night he had been struck by lightning, and so they told him.

“Whoever did that was strong...an especially powerful Moon Mage” Rayla said

“Like Lujanne-” Callum started

“No, she doesn't seem like the type to do this” Rayla cut him off, both because she didn’t believe Lujanne would do this to something like this to a halfling, and because she was eager to not think about the weird mage again.

  
  


Claudia suddenly gasped for breath loudly before she stopped breathing entirely.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Claudia’s hearing muffled and her vision darkened as she sank further and further into depths of the void...she saw her life begin to flash before her...among them, memories of her as a child studying the Primal Sources. She saw the Sun Primal, and her once great interest in it, and all her studies ...suddenly she came upon a realization...a new understanding she had not known before.

A warmth bloomed in her core...this was not the warmth one felt when they were happy, but it felt like a radiating heat...like a sun inside her giving her energy and life.

She opened her eyes and drew a rune in the air

“LUMOS SOLEM!!” she shouted and cast an orb of sunlight. She felt something leech out of her, something cold and slimy before the warmth of a sun spread throughout her body.

  
  


Soren was pleading with his unconscious sister to wake, Ezran was with him holding the hand of the girl he had always looked to as an older sister.

Rayla and Callum were the most conflicted with what to do. It was tragic to see Soren holding his likely-dying younger sister and begging for her to be alright, however they were also aware of her history of her dark magic use, and when she attacked them near the Moon Nexus.

Callum heard a faint flickering sound coming from his bag where he had been storing the Key of Aaravos Callum checked on it, and saw a rune flickering when it was near Claudia. 

The Rune of the Sun Primal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this and TFE, if a Dark Mage learns an arcanum they are healed by it, and restored to how they were before using the dark arts. In Claudia's case, it was expelled from her body while the Sun Arcanum is healing all the internal damage Dark Magic wrought. She will not regain her arm this way, however, as it was cut off rather then consumed


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is often not as comforting as one would desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good News! This story is Not Dead™, I was just busy with many things, including my Owl House fics.

Claudia woke suddenly, gasping for air and startling everyone in the immediate vicinity. She's disoriented and there's a ringing in her ears that drowns out any dialogue, she sees their mouths forming words, but doesn't hear them.

She feels something force it's way up her throat and she moves as fast as she can to the edge of the wagon. She spews up a thick inky black bile onto the ground until she feels like her stomach is entirely empty. Then she feels lightheaded and faints.

Callum prodded the inky goo with a stick and senses it has a dark hunger to it, and smelled faintly of decay. He suspected it was related to dark magic. 

* * *

  
  


Claudia came-to again while the others were about to discuss what they should do, with everything that had happened recently. 

Soren came clean that Viren had ordered him to commit regicide, and that he was afraid to do it, and confront his father afterward.

Claudia, after making it obvious she had woken up, admitted that she had been told to let Soren die if it meant saving him or the egg. She was thankful she hadn’t needed to make that decision.

“So...what happens now?” asked Ezran “do we keep going on together? Dad’s gonna be worried” then he saw everyone else make a quick grimace, which confused him.

“I um..well..” Soren started, rubbing the back of his head

Callum stepped forward and kneeled before his brother to meet him at eye level before hugging him “Ezran, I’m so sorry” he said, his voice breaking a little

“Callum? What...what are you sorry for? What did you do?” Ezan asked, a little confused

“The night we left to take Zym home...something bad happened..” Callum said “a-and dad he-” he stopped, his voice caught in his throat as his breath shuddered

Ezran paused, squinting his eyes and then they widened like saucers, as he realized.

“No...nononono!” he shook his head frantically and then ran off

“Ezran!!!” shouted Soren

Claudia winced and clutched the sides of her head, the sudden loudness hurting her ears

Rayla went to see to Ezran while Callum and Soren checked on Claudia

* * *

Ezran was sitting at the edge of a pond, Bait at his side. 

Rayla approached slowly, but she stepped on a twig accidentally, and Ezran quickly looked at her, his eyes were red from crying.

“Hey” she said

“Hey” he replied, his voice hoarse

“Can...can I sit with you?” she asked and whenEzran nodded, she joined him by the pond

“You okay?” she asked cautiously

He didn’t answer

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner...I should have told you both on the first night“ she said, she picked up a stick and drawing random lines into the soil 

“Callum once told me that when you grow up, you have to face things you’re not ready for” Ezran said “and now I have to face this fact that I’m not a prince anymore...I’m the king now” he tucked his knees to his chest and hid his face “and I’m scared”

“It’s okay to be afraid, Ez..but how you act on that fear is not something I can help you with” said Rayla

“Thanks Rayla, you’re the best, you know that, right?” Ezran replied

“Mayybeee...you could keep tellin’ me that” Rayla said, cocking an eyebrow and making Ezran laugh

“I think I know what I need to do” Ezran said, getting up “let’s get back to the others”

* * *

  
  


When they returned to the wagon, Callum and Soren were sitting with Claudia, who had makeshift earmuffs on to reduce the noise that made her ears hurt.

  
  


“You’re back!” Callum exclaimed, his wings fluttering

Rayla had to hide her smile at how cute the display was

“I have something to say...I’m not going to Xadia with you guys” Ezran said “I have a big responsibility now...and I may be in a better position to stop the war as king” 


End file.
